Abelard has gone stupid!

I guess I need to get him a very wide glow-in-the-dark collar (where?), and
post signs along the drive: "Beware - Sleeping orange cat may not move". But
I want to get to the bottom of why it's sometimes so hard to wake him. This
just started about a week ago. I've alse noticed that his body now often
trembles like it does when he's really cold. But it's mid-July!

It's Friday night and I can't talk to the vet until Monday. Has anyone got
any ideas?

How often does the trembling happen? And what are the circumstances
under which it occurs? One of the things that trembling can indicate in
a cat is poisoning. Take a look at
http://petplace.netscape.com/article....asp?artID=232 for some of
the common plants that can cause poisoning symptoms in cats.

in article , Pat at
wrote on 7/9/04 7:41 PM:


"Jo Firey" wrote in message
...
Are you sure the ways you have tested his hearing he could not have
figured
out from sight? But he would have to be totally deaf to not hear and feel
a
car right there you would think.

He reacted to flies buzzing behind the curtains, where he could not see
them. I left him in the next room, he was facing away from me, I smooched to
him, and his ears pricked up and he turned and looked at me. I let him back
out in the yard, opened a can, and he ran to the kitchen looking for the
food. Several other things like that. I wanted to be sure he was not
reacting to something he could see.

Out Sam used to go out in the orchard to nap on really hot summer
afternoons
and we would have to go get him and bring him in. He would just be
totally
out.

It has been really hot here lately.



Maybe it is the heat. You know how you get that dead sleep. Maybe keep him
in a bit more until he seems perkier.

in article , Pat at
wrote on 7/9/04 7:41 PM:


"Jo Firey" wrote in message
...
Are you sure the ways you have tested his hearing he could not have
figured
out from sight? But he would have to be totally deaf to not hear and feel
a
car right there you would think.

He reacted to flies buzzing behind the curtains, where he could not see
them. I left him in the next room, he was facing away from me, I smooched to
him, and his ears pricked up and he turned and looked at me. I let him back
out in the yard, opened a can, and he ran to the kitchen looking for the
food. Several other things like that. I wanted to be sure he was not
reacting to something he could see.

Out Sam used to go out in the orchard to nap on really hot summer
afternoons
and we would have to go get him and bring him in. He would just be
totally
out.

It has been really hot here lately.



Maybe it is the heat. You know how you get that dead sleep. Maybe keep him
in a bit more until he seems perkier.

He was born July 27, 2002. He's thin, but that's typical of an Aby.


"Christine Burel" wrote in message
...

"Pat" wrote in message
...

"Yoj" wrote in message
link.net...

The only think I can think of is temporary deafness. I don't know if
that's even possible, but I once had a brain-damaged cat who
apparently
went temporarily blind every so often. Most of the time he was fine,
but at times he would blunder around, bumping into things.

I hope the vet can come up with a definitive answer - and a solution.

Joy

I've never heard of temporary deafness. I will research it. Thanks for
the
idea.


How old is Abelard? Could he have a hypothyroid?
Christine

He was born July 27, 2002. He's thin, but that's typical of an Aby.


"Christine Burel" wrote in message
...

"Pat" wrote in message
...

"Yoj" wrote in message
link.net...

The only think I can think of is temporary deafness. I don't know if
that's even possible, but I once had a brain-damaged cat who
apparently
went temporarily blind every so often. Most of the time he was fine,
but at times he would blunder around, bumping into things.

I hope the vet can come up with a definitive answer - and a solution.

Joy

I've never heard of temporary deafness. I will research it. Thanks for
the
idea.


How old is Abelard? Could he have a hypothyroid?
Christine

Pat wrote:

But I want to get to the bottom of why it's sometimes so hard to wake
him.

I don't know if this applies to Abelard, but I remember an incident from
when Smudge was a kitten. I woke up in the middle of the night and discovered
that I was lying completely on top of her. She was lying flat (*very* flat)
on the mattress. I got scared, and tried to wake her. I called to her, shook
her, patted her (not really hard, but somewhat hard), shook her some more.
She didn't move. I started to panic. And then, she just kind of... woke up.
She sat up, looking wobbly and bleary. I think she had just been very, very
deeply asleep.

Looking back at that now, I wonder if, because she was directly underneath
me, she wasn't getting enough oxygen. And maybe that's why her sleep was so
profound. If that's a possibility, then maybe something like that is happening
with Abelard? He could have some kind of sleep apnea, which would certainly
bring his oxygen levels down. (I'm suddenly picturing him wearing a little
CPAP. Sorry! I know you're worried, with good reason, but the image just
popped into my head.) Anyway, the oxygen thing is just a theory - I have no
idea if it makes any medical sense.

I would suggest you keep him in over the weekend, until you can bring him
to the vet. This sounds like something that should be checked out asap.

Purrs,
Joyce

Pat wrote:

But I want to get to the bottom of why it's sometimes so hard to wake
him.

I don't know if this applies to Abelard, but I remember an incident from
when Smudge was a kitten. I woke up in the middle of the night and discovered
that I was lying completely on top of her. She was lying flat (*very* flat)
on the mattress. I got scared, and tried to wake her. I called to her, shook
her, patted her (not really hard, but somewhat hard), shook her some more.
She didn't move. I started to panic. And then, she just kind of... woke up.
She sat up, looking wobbly and bleary. I think she had just been very, very
deeply asleep.

Looking back at that now, I wonder if, because she was directly underneath
me, she wasn't getting enough oxygen. And maybe that's why her sleep was so
profound. If that's a possibility, then maybe something like that is happening
with Abelard? He could have some kind of sleep apnea, which would certainly
bring his oxygen levels down. (I'm suddenly picturing him wearing a little
CPAP. Sorry! I know you're worried, with good reason, but the image just
popped into my head.) Anyway, the oxygen thing is just a theory - I have no
idea if it makes any medical sense.

I would suggest you keep him in over the weekend, until you can bring him
to the vet. This sounds like something that should be checked out asap.

Purrs,
Joyce

Thanks, Joyce.

I brought him in a while ago and gave him as much of a bath as he would
tolerate (and it ain't much). Only the 2nd time in his life that I've tried
to bathe him - because after the first time, I swore I would never try it
again with him. It kind of perked him up. I'll keep him in over the weekend,
too.


wrote in message
...
Pat wrote:

But I want to get to the bottom of why it's sometimes so hard to wake
him.

I don't know if this applies to Abelard, but I remember an incident from
when Smudge was a kitten. I woke up in the middle of the night and
discovered
that I was lying completely on top of her. She was lying flat (*very*
flat)
on the mattress. I got scared, and tried to wake her. I called to her,
shook
her, patted her (not really hard, but somewhat hard), shook her some more.
She didn't move. I started to panic. And then, she just kind of... woke
up.
She sat up, looking wobbly and bleary. I think she had just been very,
very
deeply asleep.

Looking back at that now, I wonder if, because she was directly underneath
me, she wasn't getting enough oxygen. And maybe that's why her sleep was
so
profound. If that's a possibility, then maybe something like that is
happening
with Abelard? He could have some kind of sleep apnea, which would
certainly
bring his oxygen levels down. (I'm suddenly picturing him wearing a little
CPAP. Sorry! I know you're worried, with good reason, but the image
just
popped into my head.) Anyway, the oxygen thing is just a theory - I have
no
idea if it makes any medical sense.

I would suggest you keep him in over the weekend, until you can bring him
to the vet. This sounds like something that should be checked out asap.

Purrs,
Joyce

Thanks, Joyce.

I brought him in a while ago and gave him as much of a bath as he would
tolerate (and it ain't much). Only the 2nd time in his life that I've tried
to bathe him - because after the first time, I swore I would never try it
again with him. It kind of perked him up. I'll keep him in over the weekend,
too.


wrote in message
...
Pat wrote:

But I want to get to the bottom of why it's sometimes so hard to wake
him.

I don't know if this applies to Abelard, but I remember an incident from
when Smudge was a kitten. I woke up in the middle of the night and
discovered
that I was lying completely on top of her. She was lying flat (*very*
flat)
on the mattress. I got scared, and tried to wake her. I called to her,
shook
her, patted her (not really hard, but somewhat hard), shook her some more.
She didn't move. I started to panic. And then, she just kind of... woke
up.
She sat up, looking wobbly and bleary. I think she had just been very,
very
deeply asleep.

Looking back at that now, I wonder if, because she was directly underneath
me, she wasn't getting enough oxygen. And maybe that's why her sleep was
so
profound. If that's a possibility, then maybe something like that is
happening
with Abelard? He could have some kind of sleep apnea, which would
certainly
bring his oxygen levels down. (I'm suddenly picturing him wearing a little
CPAP. Sorry! I know you're worried, with good reason, but the image
just
popped into my head.) Anyway, the oxygen thing is just a theory - I have
no
idea if it makes any medical sense.

I would suggest you keep him in over the weekend, until you can bring him
to the vet. This sounds like something that should be checked out asap.

Purrs,
Joyce

"Pat" wrote in message
...

"Yoj" wrote in message
link.net...

The only think I can think of is temporary deafness. I don't know if
that's even possible, but I once had a brain-damaged cat who
apparently
went temporarily blind every so often. Most of the time he was
fine,
but at times he would blunder around, bumping into things.

I hope the vet can come up with a definitive answer - and a
solution.

Joy

I've never heard of temporary deafness. I will research it. Thanks for
the
idea.

I haven't heard of it either, but I had never heard of temporary
blindness before Charky (RB) experienced it.

Joy